The End Of Life

Opening his windows, Mark went inside the washroom. Taking a bath with cool water after traveling in the scorching sun for over 4 hours was refreshing. After 15 minutes he slowly came out only wrapped in a towel with his tight muscles having a few drops of water slowly sliding down.

He opened the closet and took out a fresh pair of clothes. Finally refreshed once again, he made his way into the kitchen to get something to eat. Opening the shelves, he found a few instant noodles which did not expire and some eggs. Making himself a simple and tasty dinner, Mark sat on his bed.

He observed the sun was almost down and kept his bowl aside and closed the windows and curtains. He took out a petrol lamp he had and lit it. Placing it back on the table, he continued to slowly eat. After finishing his food, Mark left the bowl in the sink and came back.

He decided to get what he wanted and quickly go to sleep. He needed to move out early in the morning. Walking up to the shelf on the other side of the room near another bed which was comparatively cleaner than his. Slowly opening the shelf, he crouched down. Keeping the lamp aside, he took out the clothes in it.

After placing all the clothes aside, he could a long object wrapped in a white cloth. Slowly bringing it out with both his hands, Mark stood up and placed it on the bed. He picked up the lamp once again and bought it near him.

He slowly took the object wrapped in cloth into his hands before slowly removing the cloth. Dust fell as the cloth slowly became undone. A neatly shaped scabbard appeared. Placing the cloth back onto the bed, he slowly touched the scabbard.

Mesmerized by the red-colored scabbard having green dragon drawing on both sides. It looked simple but also gave out an eerie feeling. It was almost like it wanted to slash some people down. He slowly caressed the scabbard, thinking about it.

This was Kevin's gift from his grandfather. Much like Mona, Kevin's grandfather also intended to give Kevin a sword, and this was their family inheritance. It was said that their ancestors used this sword to fight in wars in olden ages and was passed down. Similarly, as Kevin practiced a bit of swordsmanship with Mark with his grandfather, he received the sword.

But Kevin never paid attention to it. He never had an interest in swordsmanship like how Mark had at that time and simply gave it to Mark. His grandfather was not against this as he felt it would be in better use if it was with Mark.

But later, Mark's life tumbled down, and he returned it to Kevin for safekeeping, and to this day it was with him. He always felt a connection, like in the Chinese games and novels he played and read with the sword. He felt the same eerie feeling every time and as if it was unsatisfied due to some reason.

Taking a deep breath, he clutched the handle with one hand and the scabbard with another before pulling the sword out. A clean and shiny sword slowly came out of scabbard almost like having its own glow.

He slowly kept the scabbard aside before touching the sword with his finger. Blood oozed out as soon as he touched it, showing its excellent sharpness to this date. No one would believe they used centuries back. Quickly keeping his finger in his mouth, he continued to observe the sword in front of him.

He turned the sword to the other side and was as simple as it could be. Removing his finger from his mouth now that the pain reduced, he clutched it with both his hands and swung it sometimes. There was a nice noise coming from it as it sliced through the air, which Mark liked.

This sword was the major reason he came back to his house taking an enormous risk. Slowly swinging the sword a couple of times, he felt satisfied as he got the feeling he missed all these years and placed it inside the scabbard once again. He placed it on the bed as he went to the other side of the room once again.

The house was too small and only had one room and a kitchen. It did not even have a living room. But both Mark and Kevin were ok with it as they do not need more space. As he reached his desk near his bed, he took out a city map which they had from his drawer and opened it up, spreading across the table.

He remembered the place Mona told that it was his house and another place he needed to go to tomorrow. He also wanted to go to a wholesale store to get some things like food and water.